Re: Job Hunting

Be careful with NOAA...  I sailed with them for a while, it's definitely the
bottom of the barrel.  Sailed on the McArthur out of Seattle, the
Ka-imi-moana out of Honolulu and had friends that sailed on the Cromwell out
of Honolulu.  The McArthur and Cromwell are rust-buckets waiting for
disaster (the Cromwell was finally decomissioned last year and sold).  The
officers are "commissioned" in the "NOAA Corps", a pseudo-military
organization, and everyone else is a civilian employee.  Accomodations and
working conditions on the McArthur are well below standard.  As an AB, my
shared cabin was the size of a small closet, averaged about 110 degrees in
the dead of winter, and the floor always had about an inch of shower water
on it.  Safety and firefighting gear were a disaster waiting to happen.  On
the Ka-imi-moana, it was much better, I had my own big airconditioned cabin,
tv, refer and desk.  The officer corps are a mixed bag...  some are OK and
others take their pseudo-military a bit too seriously.  As retired Navy,
they seemed less professional than the Navy and less experienced than the
Merchant Marine officers I've sailed with.

As a government "exempt" vessel, they are also not under USCG jurisdiction
for inspections, manning, etc.  They "follow" USCG guidelines, but skirted
the rules when it suited them.  For example, the McArthur had a "minimum AB
manning" of 6 AB (unlimited).  While aboard, I learned that I was the only
one aboard with a current and valid USCG AB (unlimited) rating.  Everyone
else was an OS or AB (special) that had been promoted to AB (unlimited) by
the NOAA office.

I could go on and on about all the things that are wrong with NOAA, but even
the main office will tell you what NOAA really stands for:  No Organization
At All.  Working on research ships can be a great way to go.  Just be -real
careful- if you're sailing with NOAA, make sure you see the ship you're
sailing on in daylight before you sign-on...

Good luck


"Rick" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Godless Fur Trapper wrote:
>
> > Any suggestions on certain outfits to get in touch with, any ones I
> > should avoid?
>
> Didn't you say you had storekeeper time in the Navy?
>
> The MFOW http://www.mfoww.org/employment.htm is looking for storekeepers
> for a contract they have. They even posted here looking for people. It
> is a way to get started.
>
> Did you contact the IBU in Seattle? NOAA is looking for people ... there
> are jobs all over the place!
>
> Rick
>